Corals are the engineers, builders, and bricks of the most biologically diverse ecosystem in the ocean. Alarmingly, coral reefs worldwide are in decline, struggling to survive the effects of ongoing climate change. The future of coral reefs relies on the ability of corals to track global warming with evolutionary adaptation. This project will be the first to address genetics of coral adaptation in nature. Its overarching goal is to identify the genes that are modified by natural selection to help corals cope with the changing environment. The project will integrate comparative genomic, population genomic, and quantitative genetic approaches to build an inventory of such genes and to verify their effect on coral fitness.

This project will elucidate fundamental mechanisms of evolution in the marine environment. It will also provide genetic markers to assess the risk of extinction of individual reefs, which will greatly help prioritizing conservation efforts to ensure the persistence of coral reefs in the future. In addition, there will be rich opportunities to enhance biodiversity education at the undergraduate level, promote basic science as a profession in K-12 schools, and raise public awareness of climate change.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)
Application #
1054766
Program Officer
Samuel M. Scheiner
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2011-02-01
Budget End
2016-01-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$673,948
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Austin
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Austin
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78759